The 2015 edition of the Kurt Schwitters Award, which comes with a $28,000 prize an an exhibition in the Sprengel Museum Hannover, has been awarded to Pierre Huyghe.   (more…)

The Wall Street Journal evaluates the trend towards galleries moving into Manhattan’s flower district, as many dealers tire of the rapidly increasing rents and steady stream of towering condos.  “The spirit of the neighborhood is dramatically changing,” says Casey Kaplan. “A lot of the conversations I’ve had with artists have been about wanting to break out of the art mall and have a different experience.” (more…)

Christian Marclay, Actions: Smak Squish Splsh (No 2) (2013), all images via White Cube

In his most recent  solo exhibition at the White Cube Bermondsey space, Christian Marclay presents a number of new works exploring the connection between image and sound, performance and artifact. From static onomatopoeias screen printed on canvas, to words racing around a video projection, to live performances within the gallery, Marclay explores the role of sound in art from numerous perspectives and forms, particularly in how they translate from one medium to the next. (more…)

Photographer Donald Graham has sent a cease and desist letter to Richard Prince and Gagosian Gallery, after a work of his ended up in Prince’s recent show of Instagram appropriations.  Interestingly enough, the work itself was already used without license on user @rastajay92’s account, which is the image Prince apparently printed. (more…)

Jeremy Deller (curator), “Love is Enough” installation view (2014). via Modern Art Oxford

In Love is Enough at Modern Art Oxford, artist Jeremy Deller brings together the work of William Morris and Andy Warhol, two renowned artists from vastly disparate eras who served as something of artistic icons of their respective generations.  Drawing on a uniquely perceptive appreciation of both artists, Deller has created a seamless installation that shows a conversation across centuries over the accessibility of art and its purpose in countering the harshness of industrialism. (more…)

An article in Bloomberg this week looks at booms and busts in the art market as tastes change, and the real impacts speculation and economic strength has on artists’ careers.  “There’s even more speculative buying and more gamblers than ever,” says collector and dealer Adam Lindemann. “But they’re not going to want to buy the artists that busted. They’re going to want to buy the deals today. They want to move on.” (more…)

MoMA released a video trailer for the upcoming Björk retrospective and video installation next month, which will take the name Black Lake from one of the songs off the artist’s most recent album, Vulnicura.  The exhibition opens March 8th. (more…)

The Centre Pompidou has announced plans for a series of pop-up exhibitions taking place across the nation of France, with cities able to apply to host a four-year temporary exhibition space operated by the Paris museum.  “We will soon launch an open call for candidates,” says a museum spokesperson. (more…)

Following the success of its exhibition Matisse: The Cut-Outs, MoMA will return Henri Matisse’s full room installation The Swimming Pool to its permanent collection galleries, beginning in April.  “MoMA’s viewers will now be able to encounter this important work in the context of the museum’s collection,” says exhibition co-curator Karl Buchberg. (more…)

Artist Tom Sachs has announced the release of A Space Program, a narrative film made in conjunction with his 2012 Space Program: Mars project at the Park Avenue Armory.  The film will premiere next month at SXSW in Austin.   (more…)

Irina Lebedeva, the head of Moscow’s State Tretyakoff Gallery, has been dismissed by the government following criticisms over her leadership on expansion projects and a number of other various complaints.  “The construction of the second wing has dragged out, there are scandals around the museum, which has yet to create comfortable surroundings for visitors, schoolchildren, students, and facilitators,” says Mikhail Bryzgalov in a statement. (more…)

Smithsonian outpost The Freer Gallery of Art in New York will close next January for renovations, a major project that will add additional lighting and updated technological capabilities for the museum.  “Some of it will be very subtle, but we are trying to take it back to the way it opened in 1923,” says Katie Ziglar, director of external affairs. (more…)

The hearing over Danielle and Pierre Le Guennec’s alleged theft of Pablo Picasso works has concluded, with the prosecutor calling for a suspended five year sentence.  The final verdict and sentencing is set to occur next month.  “The Picasso that I know did not separate himself from his work,” says Anne Baldessari, the former director of the Musée Picasso in Paris, told Art Newspaper. “It would be like ripping off his skin.” (more…)

Creative Time has announced a new project set to open this coming may, Drifting in Daylight, which will install a series of works through the winding pathways of Central Park in New York.  “The six-weekend show will tempt visitors to transcend their busy lives, losing themselves along a playful trail of sensory experiences,” the project website says. (more…)

A Jeff Koons exhibition planned to open this year at the Louvre has been canceled after a reported “lack of funding,” according to Artforum.  The exhibition had been previously reported to consist of a number of the artist’s balloon animal sculptures. (more…)

Beverly Hills-based United Talent Agency has announced that it is launching a new wing focused on fine art, which will be headed by lawyer Josh Roth.  While the agency has no plans to broker sales, it will focus on many tasks traditionally handled by galleries, such as managing financial negotiations, overseeing commissions, and other tasks.  “We believe there is room for a serious, professional representation structure in the art world, one that helps artists gain greater control of their careers and opens the doors to new and better opportunities,” Roth said in a statement. (more…)

A recent report by Skate’s has indicated that investors are directing major attention towards Sotheby’s as Vanguard Group, Morgan Stanley and BlackRock have collectively acquired around 18% of the company in the past weeks bringing over $540 million in investment capital with them. (more…)

Ryder Ripps, Heater (2014), via Art Observed

If there’s one thing that can be said about Ryder Ripps, it’s that the artist loves context.  Over the past few years, the artist has produced a number of timely and often razor-sharp critiques on the notions of authorship and production in the digital sphere, including his “WhoDat.Biz” troll of Kanye West, and his recent, controversial Ace Hotel performance piece, in which the artist hired a group of “sensual masseuses” to draw pictures for him to protest what he saw as an inequitable payment situation. (more…)

Ryan McNamara, Performance Plaque (2014)

Ryan McNamara star has rapidly been on the rise in the past years, as his infamous performance commissions, among which are his breakthrough Performa 09 piece A Fag Could Do That and his McLaren Award-winning performance MEEM, which the artist brought to Miami Beach last December. Following the immense success of his recentresidency, McNamara is making his comeback to New York at Mary Boone Gallery’s Midtown location with an exhibition that delves into the tangible aspects of performance art, the remains of a performance (body parts, clothing, and materials), which are left behind following a piece. (more…)

Harmony Korine, Fex Chex (2014), all images Courtesy Gagosian Gallery

Currently on view at Gagosian Beverly Hills is a group of new paintings by American film director, producer, screenwriter, author, and artist Harmony Korine. Although he is primarily working within the mediums of film and writing, Korine has recently begun publicly displaying his works, immense, swirling compositions composed in a variety of techniques and palettes.

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Mamma Andersson, Behind the Curtain (Installation View)

Currently on view at David Zwirner is Behind the Curtain, a new body of work by one of the most recognized contemporary artists from Sweden, Mamma Andersson. The Stockholm-based artist has gained international acclaim in recent years with her solo shows in Aspen Museum of Art, Douglas Hyde Gallery in Dublin and a mid-career survey that travelled to Finland and UK after its Swedish premiere several years ago. (more…)

The Cour de Rohan that once was the home of the artist Balthus is currently on the market in Paris, the Wall Street Journal reports.  The four bedroom, four bathroom apartment with a secluded courtyard is being offered for about $9 million. (more…)

Mark Bradford, Biting the Book (2013), via Phillips

Following a pair of major auctions the previous evenings, the Phillips Contemporary and Evening Sale in London has concluded the first Contemporary market week of the year, capping a 30-lot sale at the auction house’s new 30 Berkeley Square to the final result of £17.7 million, with only five of the works going unsold.

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Francis Bacon, Study for a Head (1955), via Christie’s

Another night of sales has come and gone in London, following the conclusion of Christie’s Contemporary Evening Sale, a somewhat textbook outing that saw the auction house forego a reliance on high-achieving works in favor of a series of strong selling works to reach a final tally of £117,142,500.   (more…)